Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)
No Taxon (Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps)
Superfamily Vespoidea
Family Vespidae (Hornets, Yellowjackets; Paper, Potter, Mason, and Pollen Wasps; and Allies)
Subfamily Polistinae (Paper Wasps)
Genus Polistes (Umbrella Paper Wasps)
No Taxon (Subgenus Aphanilopterus)
Species exclamans (Guinea Paper Wasp)
Other Common Names
Common Paper Wasp (may also be applied to allies such as P. fuscatus or P. dorsalis)
Guinea Wasp
"Yellowjacket" - especially in the southern US, this species is often erroneously referred to as a yellowjacket, though that name is reserved for members of the genera Vespula and Dolichovespula.
Explanation of Names
Polistes exclamans Viereck, 1906
Size
Forewing length: 13.0–16.5 mm (female), 12.0–15.0 (male)(1)
Identification
Dark antennae with orange tips, yellow mark on the occiput, extensive yellow mark on the metasoma (except for some specimens in Florida), fore coxae yellow-marked (or at least ferruginous), four yellow vertical lines on the propodeum, and yellow bands on each segment of the metasoma.
♀ ♂
Range
NJ to FL, west to NE, CO, and TX; also occurs in Mexico (Chihuahua to Jalisco, Hidalgo) and introduced to Hawaii(2). Recently introduced to AZ, CA, NM.(3)